updated 11:35 am EDT, Wed July 8, 2009

Sony Downs PS3 Price Talk

Sony chief Sir Howard Stringer on Wednesday dismissed pressure on his company to drop the price of the PlayStation 3 when the subject was presented at the Allen & Co conference. Responding to implications by Activision CEO Bobby Kotick that his game development firm might stop developing for the PS3 if its price remains too high, Stringer said it was simply the "nature of business" for companies to put pressure on each other and that it wouldn't necessarily push Sony to cut prices.

"I lose money on every PlayStation I make [if there's a price cut] -- how's that for logic," Stringer said.

While the comments shoot down rumors, they appear at odds with evidence of an upcoming slim PS3 and price drop surfacing at the same time. Besides historically reliable sources, Sony itself has recently allowed a two-game 80GB bundle at Best Buy that most suspect is meant to clear stock of the base PS3 so it can be replaced with the newer, less expensive model.

Sony has regularly had the poorest-selling console of the current generation and has mostly been hurt by high prices, which have stayed at $399 since the 40GB PS3 was introduced in late 2007. Since then, Microsoft has lowered its prices to as little as $199.